A Change In The Plan: Kecoughtan Plan Takes A Detour

October 13, 2007|By CHRIS FLORES, cflores@dailypress.com | 247-4738

HAMPTON — An overhaul of the area surrounding two Kecoughtan Road shopping centers, including one anchored by Food Lion, was the most ambitious, expensive, landscape-altering portion of the city of Hampton's plan for the corridor.

The city envisioned the apartment complex surrounding the Food Lion Center torn down and replaced with homes. The Southampton Shopping Center across the street, best known for the Vancosta's eatery, would be torn down and replaced with a mixed-use development.

Now, the vision for the gateway into Hampton's Kecoughtan Corridor will follow a different course. The city hasn't sat idle, but its hard work to make the plan a reality has been thrown off by the real estate market.

The city purchased land surrounding both the apartment complex and the shopping center across the street. But a recent purchase of the apartments by an investor who is completely upgrading the 300 units has altered the plans.

Hampton had to close its waiting list for Section 8 housing after about 54 tenants were kicked out of The Apartments of Merrimac in June. Besides its land ownership around the apartments and Section 8 involvement, the city had one other interest -- former economic development director James Eason has long co-owned the Food Lion Center next door.

But the plans for turning the apartment property into a housing development have run into the reality of an apartment market with not enough decent units to meet demand. Home prices in Hampton Roads now make apartment rentals a more affordable option. An investor rushed in to cash in on that demand and outbid the city for the apartments.

"We have such a shortage of affordable work force housing, and that's what this will be," said Wendy Drucker of Drucker & Falk, which manages the apartments, but doesn't own them.

KECOUGHTAN PLAN

While much of the Kecoughtan plan revolves around landscaping upgrades and sporadic tweaks to the mix and location of businesses and homes, the portion that will involve the most investment and change is around the two shopping centers.

The plan called for ripping down the apartments and stringing together the city-owned land with the apartment land for a housing development. A network of new roads would cut through the homes and better connect with the Food Lion shopping center and a new park.

The Southampton Shopping Center across the street would also meet the fate of demolition. Strung together with a stretch of city-owned property next to it, the center would be replaced by a new mixed-use development of retail, office and residential buildings.

The key to achieving the goals is getting the owners of the apartments and shopping center to pursue these big plans or sell to a developer that would buy the surrounding city properties and make the whole thing happen.

APARTMENTS SOLD

As the city plan was being put together, citizens said they wanted to see some positive change to the lower-income and Section 8 apartments. The city talked with the owners -- and there were multiple companies that owned pieces of the Little England and Apartments of Merrimac -- and they didn't want to sell.

After the owners changed their minds this year and put the properties up for sale, the city lost out to a higher bidder. While disappointed that their plan has been altered, Hampton officials felt like the vast improvement planned for the apartments still meets the overall goal of improving that area.

"Even though we were unable to purchase the apartments, we actually consider it a win for us," said Susan Borland, senior business development manager with the city.

On April 5, the apartments were all sold to a limited liability corporation called Apartments of Merrimac. Drucker wouldn't identify the investor, but said he has fixed up many other apartment complexes in the past that are managed by Drucker & Falk.

Collectively, the sales brought the three companies $7.15 million. The buyer didn't wait long to act, only weeks later telling Section 8 and other tenants that they had one month to leave. The move caused Hampton to close its Section 8 waiting list because it is so long.

Now the new owner is telling the rest of the tenants in the apartment complex that they must leave by February. The rolling schedule of moving people out is intended to accommodate a massive overhaul of the complex into higher-end units.

The complex is being converted entirely from gas to electric, with full new heating and air and electric systems, plumbing, roofs and windows. The units, which are intended for families and college students, will have washers and dryers and new cabinetry and appliances.

Drucker said she didn't know what the rent prices will be in the new units. The new owner hopes to start renting out the first rehabilitated apartments by Nov. 1.

The city is still trying to add more property -- mostly vacant lots -- to its L-shaped block of property. That still might be used for new housing in the future.